Hygiene Passi

Clostridium perfringens is a bacteria that is often found in earth.

Correct Earth contains many microbes, some of which cause food poisoning. To prevent clostridium perfringens food poisonings it is important to properly heat and cool the food and not store it in the dangerous temperature zone of 6 to 60 degrees Celsius.

One of the methods of keeping pests away is to keep the loading and storage areas of a food establishment clean.

Correct Food premises shall have a pest control programme included in the own-check. Controlling pest includes keeping the food premises' loading and storing areas cleansed so that pests are not provided with food and shelter. Also, well-maintained waste handling is an important part of controlling pests.

Deep-frozen berries might contain microbes that cause food poisoning.

Correct Deep freezing only kills a few of the microbes in food. Deep freezing keeps viruses alive and retains their ability to cause infections. If berries are being used as such after unfreezing or minor heating, the viruses are not killed. For example, norovirus and hepatitis A virus have been found to cause food poisonings in Finland via such foreign frozen berries that have not been heated prior to using. The consumers are recommended throughout to heat frozen berries of foreign origin for at least 5 minutes in +90 degrees centigrade or to cook the berries for 2 minutes to ensure that norovirus and hepatitis A virus are killed. In the industry, where processes are standardised and normally under more meticulous control, it suffices with 2 minutes of heating throughout in +90 degrees centigrade. In Finland, they normally use clean water for irrigation and in other plant production, which reduces the risk of food poisoning.

Dirty root vegetables and pre-made food products can not be stored in the same cold room.

Correct Dirt always contains many microbes. Dirty root vegetables must be handled separately from other products so that the microbes in the dirt do not spread to other food products.

"A foodstuff may not be sold after its ""use by"" date."

Correct "Use-by date implies the date before which the manufacturer has intended that the product is being used and by which it is safe to use. ""Use-by date"" must be provided on easily perishable products, which already after short storing may cause health risks. Food that has passed the ""Use-by date"" may neither be sold, not used in private households. The label ""Best before"" is more associated with food quality than safety and many products labelled with ""Best before"" also may be sold and used after that date has passed."

Cleaning plans include accurate instructions about how and when cleaning is done.

Correct A cleaning plan is an essential part of an own-check plan. Cleaning plans include more accurate instructions on the cleaning of all parts of a food production area.

Workers in the food industry, e.g. the owner of a small café, must inform local food control authorities about their activities.

Correct All workers in the food industry must inform food control authorities about their activities. The informing must be done before beginning the activities. When founding a food industry workplace, e.g. a sausage factory, the activities must also be approved by the authorities.

Food prepared by heating, but refrigerated too slowly, can cause food poisoning.

Correct B. cereus bacteria reproduce under oxic as well as anoxic conditions and produce bacterium spores. As spores, they resist high temperature, draught and lacking nutrients. Spores having entered food resist heating and are able to reproduce in the food when it cools. Food poisoning epidemics most usually are related to situations where the food is prepared beforehand, commonly the previous day, and cooling has been too slow. After preparation the food must be cooled within four hours to +6 degrees centigrade or lower.

Even thoroughly boiled food contains microbes.

Correct Bacteria spores will not be destroyed during boiling. When boiled food cools to less than 60 degrees Celsius the bacteria spores may reproduce again.

Sterilizing destroys all microbes and bacteria spores.

Correct Canned foods are prepared by sterilizing them. This way easily perishable food products are able to last for years in room temperature.

A food establishment must be cleaned regularly following a cleaning plan. Furthermore, cleanliness must be monitored continuously.

Correct Controlling and monitoring the purity of the food premises are included in daily activities. Beside the cleansing plan, cleansing shall be performed for all activities occurring in the food premises, if cleansing is needed to ensure that food safety does not decline or is put at risk.

Disinfecting reduces the amount of microbes from work surfaces and equipment.

Correct Correctly done disinfection reduces the amount of microbes excellently on work surfaces and equipment.

Products that have gone through ultra-high-temperature treatment (UHT) can be stored in room temperature.

Correct During UHT products are sterilized with quick heating. Unopened packages can be stored in room temperature because most bacteria spores have been destroyed.

Food products must never be cooled or stored outside.

Correct Food products must not be cooled or stored outside. All equipment and products, e.g. boxes containg baked goods, must be stored inside.

Fever and the flu are good reasons for a food product employee to not go to work.

Correct Food products should not be handled when one has a fever or the flu because causes of the disease spread easily by coughing or sneezing.

Using food, that has been served at a buffet table, as an ingredient for preparing new foods increases food poisoning risks.

Correct Food that is at a buffet table is often in room temperature and available to be taken by customers themselves. This means that food poisoning causing bacteria spread to these foods easier and reproduce quicker in them. The risk of food poisoning increases when the same foods are used to make new ones. Food from buffet tables must not be used again in food preparation.

The HACCP system is used to help own-check plans and the planning of them.

Correct HACCP, meaning the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system, helps to think of critical points during transportation of food products from preparation to consumers. Explaining these critical points in the own-check plan helps upkeeping good work hygiene.

When a health inspector inspects a workplace, he or she will also check the workplace's own check plan's monitoring logs.

Correct Health inspectors make routine inspections in food production areas. The monitoring logs of the own-check plans are also part of the inspections. The logs must be stored for 1 year in the workplace. Only stored logs can prove that the workplace has followed its own- check plan accordingly.

The incorrect storing temperature of food is a major cause for food poisoning.

Correct If food is stored in too warm temperatures, microbes that cause food poisoning will reproduce quickly. Because of this the temperatures of cold storage units and freezers must be monitored regularly using thermometers.

When hot food being served is kept at over 60 degrees Celsius the microbes in the food can not reproduce.

Correct If the food is not eaten or cooled immediately after production it must be kept at over 60 degrees Celsius when being served to prevent microbes from reproducing. The serving time is 4 hours at maximum.

Gravading of fish does not prevent listeria from multiplying.

Correct Listeria is common environmental bacterium appearing in soil, water, and plants, and in animal feed and the intestines of people and animals. Listeria is able to reproduce in salt concentrations up to 20 %. The salt concentrations of food consumed as such generally do not prohibit the microbes from reproducing.Sufficient heating kills listeria but the process of preparing cold-smoked or pickled salted fish does not include methods that would kill listeria. Listeria reproduces under oxic as well as anoxic conditions and at normal refrigerator temperatures. The source of infection by listeria bacteria, i.e., listerosis, often has been vacuum- packaged cold-smoked or pickled salted fish. The risk of listerosis increases if these risk products continuously are not stored sufficiently cold throughout the chain of production and selling. Particularly, risk groups such as elderly people, persons with reduced resistance (e.g., transplantation patients, diabetics, patients under cortisone regimen, or with cancer, AIDS, liver or kidney disease), and pregnant women rather should avoid using products with risk of listeria, or otherwise prior to using carefully heat the products so that they throughout become sufficiently hot (over +72 degrees centigrade).

Cooked and uncooked products should always be handled on different working surfaces and with different equipment.

Correct Microbes will spread to cooked products if they are handled with the same equipment or on the same surfaces as raw products.

Microbes grow well in cooked rice in room temperature.

Correct Moisture is one factor affecting the growth of microbes. The higher the moisture, the better the microbes reproduce. Water activity, i.e., the volume of free water available to microbes is high in cooked rice. Thus, rice is a good growth substrate for microbes if the rice is not stored sufficiently hot or cold.

Norovirus is destroyed when food is heated at least two minutes in +90 degrees Celcius.

Correct Norovirus, which causes food poisonings, is killed by heat processing but resists extremely high temperatures. Two minutes in +90 degrees centigrade is enough to kill norovirus in food. After proper heating of food, storing it in at least +60 degrees centigrade during serving prohibits the reproduction of microbes.

Berries may collect viruses if the irrigation water is contaminated by, e.g., faeces.

Correct One cause of berries becoming contaminated is using virus-contaminated water for irrigation. The usual cause of water being contaminated is contamination by faeces. Contaminated water also may reach the berries, for example, when using pesticides. Even the berry picker themself may be the source of the berries being contaminated, if the berry picker's hand hygiene is insufficient. Norovirus and hepatitis A virus are the most important viruses infecting via food and water.

All monitoring logs made for own-check plans must be stored for at least a year at the workplace.

Correct Only stored monitoring logs can prove that the own-check plan has been adhered to.

Anybody can establish a food premises, such as a café or a manufacturing plant without having food industry education (such as a restaurant chef qualification).

Correct Operating in the food sector requires no particular education or examination. However, education in the sector is, of course, an advantage already at the establishing stage. While operating in the food sector requires no education, it does not mean that the operator would not be responsible for the safety of the food they produce. By the food legislation the food business operator always is responsible for the legality of their operations and that the food is safe. When prospecting to establish food premises one must search the provisions involving the operations. Safe operations demand much competence of the operator and knowledge of food safety. During establishing, worthwhile is to contact the supervisory food authority in one's municipality. They give advice and guidance with respect to the prerequisites of operations.

Mashed potato is an easily perishable food product.

Correct Pre-made foods are easily perishable products. Easily perishable foods must be stored in the cold, under 6 degrees Celsius.

Raw and cooked produce should not be handled at the same time or with the same utensils.

Correct Raw and cooked produce should be stored and handled separately. Surfaces should be properly cleaned in between handling raw and cooked produce. Unhygienic cleaning equipment can also contaminate the kitchen surfaces and cause microbes to spread. This type of spreading of microbes is called cross contamination.

The slicing, cutting and mincing of the raw materials and food cause them easily perishable.

Correct Raw materials and food deteriorate faster if you slice, mince or chop them, for example, slice sausages, mince meat or chop vegetables. The handling surface of the food increases, improving the microbes' chances for reproduction. Microbes often reside on the surface sections of food. Chopping and grinding carries the microbes further into the food where they find new nutrients and space for reproduction. The probability of microbe contamination and the total amount microbes are reduced by handling the food with clean hands, using clean utensils and handling tools, avoiding unnecessary touching of the food, as well as by keeping the work environment cleaned and keeping the food protected at correct temperature.

Salmonella can spread for example from utensils used for processing raw poultry meat.

Correct Raw or insufficiently cooked poultry meat is one of the most common spreaders of salmonella. Such contamination where the microbes via direct contact or working tools or surfaces, or because of poor hand hygiene are transported from one food to another is called cross-contamination. A common cause of food poisonings is cross-contamination in kitchens. To avoid cross- contamination, particularly food of animal origin (raw meat, raw poultry meat, raw fish etc.) must be kept apart from food that is intended to be eaten as such without heating or other preparations that kills microbes (salads, cold cuts, smoked fish etc.). It should also be observed that raw food and food eaten as such must not be handled with the same working tools, and that one observes proper hand hygiene.

The safety data sheets of detergents (washing chemicals) must always be kept close to their storage location.

Correct Safety data sheets must be kept near detergents so that the user of the detergent can read e.g. the first aid instructions.

A person should not handle unpackaged foodstuffs to be served without heating in a food premise if he or she has a salmonella infection.

Correct Salmonella-bearing person may contaminate the food with salmonella bacteria when handling food. Section 56 of the Act on Infectious Diseases (1227/2016) stipulates that the employer must require a reliable statement from the employee that he/she does not carry a salmonella infection if the worker is in a position with a higher risk of spreading salmonella infection. Health Survey at the beginning of an employment refers to an interview by a physician or a nurse of an occupational health service or health center. During the interview, the employee is underlined by the good hygiene practices of the food industry (If there are any symptoms, you should not work, the employer is informed of a possible disease communicable through food and emphasizes and trains the importance of good hand hygiene). If necessary, a laboratory examination is carried out. Before submitting an account of salmonella infection, he or she must not work in a task in which he deals with unpacked unheated foodstuffs to be served. The employer must request a worker's account before the beginning of the employment or when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that he/she has a salmonella bacterium during work. If a person carrying out the above-mentioned risk work is diagnosed with salmonella, he or she will be arrested for work. Priority is given to other duties in which the infection risk is avoided. The Health and Welfare Institute (THL) provides more detailed guidance on this issue (Toimenpideohje salmonellatartuntojen ehkäisemiseksi.

Every employee shares in the responsibility of carrying out the own-check plan.

Correct Sharing responsibility is an essential part of a own-check plan. Every task of the plan requires a person who is in charge of that particular task, logs measurements and verifies them with his or her signature. Own-check plans also require continuing staff training and familiarization with relevant tasks.

A food industry operator must ensure that all employees who are required by the Food Act to have a hygiene passport actually have it.

Correct The Act on food requires that a person working in food premises who in their work handles unpackaged easily perishable food shall possess a hygiene passport. Food business operators have the obligation to give guidance and to ensure that each person working in food premises is able to work hygienically with their respective work tasks. Operators/employers must at own expense ensure that each person handling unpackaged easily perishable food have a hygiene passport. Thus, it is not required through legislation that all employees in the food sector have hygiene passports. By legislation, such need not be available before three months having passed after commencing work. However, no requirements are stated in the legislation on the requirements an employer shall demand for people applying for work. Some employers may demand that persons applying for work already possess a hygiene passport although that is not required by legislation.

The results of Oiva-reports can be viewed by anyone online.

Correct The Oiva system is used to allow consumers to view the results of routine inspections.

Vacuum packaged foodstuffs might contain microbes that cause food poisoning.

Correct The air has been exhausted from vacuum package. Some harmful microbes are able to reproduce without oxygen from the air. For example, the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes also thrives in anoxic conditions and therefore particularly in vacuum packaged food. Some harmful microbes such as Clostridium botulinum, which excretes a dangerous toxin, specifically require anoxic conditions. Food may also have been contaminated before being packaged in vacuum. Microbes do not necessarily immediately die when the oxygen is depleted. If the original contamination is sufficient to cause food poisoning the microbes need not even reproduce in vacuum packaged food. It suffices that they stay alive until the food is being used. When using vacuum packages one must remember that vacuuming is no trueprocess that kills microbes. Vacuuming particularly is intended to dampen the reproduction of microbes thriving during oxic conditions.

The checking of food and the monitoring of temperature when receiving food products is a part of the own-check plan.

Correct The correct storing temperatures affect the lastingness and safety of food. The monitoring of temperature by measurements is an important part of the own-check plan when receiving food products.

Worn areas, scratches and cracks in work surfaces and cutting boards accumulate dirt. That is why microbes can easily multiply in them.

Correct Scratches, fissures and cracks easily collect dirt, which is hard to wash away, and microbes also easily reproduce in these. In food premises, all spaces, devices, working tools and surfaces being in contact with food must be flawless and kept in order so that cleansing them is possible. Thus, one may prevent that the food becomes contaminated via them.

When an employee prepares minced meat at a food establishment he/she must wear protective clothing which he/she may only wear within the food establishment.

Correct The food-hygienic risks are greater when handling unpackaged, easily perishable food like minced meat. The purpose of protective clothing in a factory that prepares minced meat is to prevent food from becoming contaminated. Protective clothing includes work wear, headgear and shoes. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that all food workers wear appropriate and clean work clothes that are required by the nature of the work and are changed frequently enough. Protective clothing may also need to be changed during the working day if the worker moves from one area of different hygiene levels to another, even if the work clothes are not dirty. If a person works, for example, in a meat processing plant, slaughterhouse or dairy, he or she needs to wear adequate protective clothing that is only worn at the workplace.

Packaging labels must correspond to the composition of the raw materials in the food.

Correct The ingredient declaration of food is a mandatory packaging label as is also the amount of certain ingredients, when necessary. The labels are intended to provide consumers with sufficient information on the products so that they can make educated choices in purchase situations and choose products that are suitable for them.

The most dangerous temperature range for food poisoning is +6 - +60 degrees Celcius, since bacteria multiply quickly in that range.

Correct The temperature range +6 - +60 degrees centigrade is a danger zone where many microbes thrive and fast reproduce. One risk by food preparation is insufficient heat processing, i.e., the combination of temperature and time. For the heating temperatures of food, there are no regulations in the legislation. For food containing meat, particularly poultry meat, a reasonably safe limit is considered to be that the food throughout is heated to at least +75 degrees centigrade during preparation. For example, the bacterium Yersinia enterocolitica is spread via insufficiently heated or raw pork meat, and salmonella via poorly heated or raw poultry meat. Sufficient heating kills both bacteria. It is regulated that the temperature for the transporting, storing and selling or serving of food sold or served hot must be at least +60 degrees centigrade, which does not kill microbes but prohibits their reproduction.

Health inspectors inspect restaurant kitchens.

Correct The work of health inspectors requires making inspections in food production areas such as food stores and restaurants.

Foodstuffs might become contaminated, if you sneeze and cough towards them.

Correct Though not necessarily visible to the naked eye, very small drops are spread in the surrounding air when coughing and sneezing. These drops always contain microbes. The drops may contaminate food but also devices, working tools and other employees, who further may transport harmful microbes to food.

If food is cooled too slowly it can lead to food poisoning.

Correct Too slow cooling of food is a very common reason for food poisoning. Cooling should happen quickly (in under 4 hours) so that the microbes in the food can not reproduce and grow into large hazardous quantities. During cooling food has a dangerous temperature (between 6 and 60 degrees Celsius) where microbes reproduce very quickly.

The shelf life of spices can be prolonged by radiation.

Correct UV, infra red and gamma radiation can be used to destroy microbes from for example spices and pastries that are made to last for long periods of storage.

Ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT) uses higher temperatures than pasteurizing.

Correct Ultra-high-temperature processing is done in much higher temperatures than pasteurizing. UHT destroys most bacteria spores and because of this products that have been treated with UHT can be stored in room temperature.

Unpackaged smoked fish and fresh fish must not touch each other in the sales counter.

Correct Unpackaged prepared fish products such as smoked fish and unpackaged unprepared fish products such as fresh fish must be kept apart from each other to prohibit cross-contamination. Smoked fish often is consumed as such, when possible microbes in the fish or that have entered it via cross- contamination, no longer is killed, because prior to using there no longer are any processes (e.g., heating) that kills microbes.

Some viruses can last and stay reproductive in water.

Correct Viruses can not reproduce in water. However, they can remain able to reproduce later on for a long time while in water.

Waiters and servers are not required to have headwear.

Correct Waiters and servers are allowed to work without headwear.

A dirty ice cream scoop might introduce harmful microbes into ice cream.

Correct When portioning unpackaged ice cream you must take care that the ice- cream scoop for serving is not dirty. Microbes reproduce on dirty ice-cream scoop and contaminate the unpackaged ice cream via the scoop. The temperature of ice cream does not kill microbes entering the ice cream.

Disinfecting work surfaces does not compensate for regular, careful washing.

Correct Work surfaces must be cleaned and washed regularly after each phase of work, and disinfecting can improve the overall cleaning result.

One may bring pets to the restaurants customer premises or terrace and to grocery store if the operator has given their permission.

Correct You may bring pets such as, for example, dogs into customer premises such as, e.g., restaurant, cafeteria and pub or grocery store provided the food business operator has given their approval. Food business operator can also limit the pets that are approved. The customers must be informed on such approvals or limitations at the entrance to the serving premises or store. However, you may not allow animals to enter food-handling premises.

Steak tartare, i.e. a raw meat patty can give you food poisoning.

Correct A person can become infected by EHEC bacteria through eating food prepared from contaminated raw materials, for example, meat, as raw or insufficiently heated. Most microbes in meat reside on the surface of meat pieces, for example, steaks. Grinding mixes microbes into the meat. Microbes reproduce very fast in minced meat, which is a favourable growth substrate. For a tartar steak, the raw material preferable should be minced from the inner sections of whole meat immediately prior to serving and eating the steak.

Food poisoning bacteria cannot multiply in vacuum packaged food products.

Incorrect A vacuum package does not prevent bacteria from multiplying. Anaerobs, ie. food poisoning bacteria that multiply in spaces free from oxygen can also multiply in vacuum packages.

Employers have the responsibility to monitor the health of employees and thus make sure that they are capable of working.

Incorrect All employees have the responsibility to tell their superiors about illnesses or any symptoms hazardous to food product safety, such as diarrhea, a sore throat, inflamed wounds or inflamed respiratory ducts. Employees with such symptoms must not handle food products.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) cannot be used as a preservative.

Incorrect Ascorbic acid lowers the pH value of food products. The growth of bacteria especially can be slowed down by increasing the acidity of products.

A product can not be used for food preparation after the product's best-before date.

Incorrect Best before dates tell that the product's main attributes and characteristics will remain the same up to the marked date, as long as it is stored correctly. The product can be used and sold after the best before date. The usability and quality of the product can be checked using the senses (visually etc.) after the best before date.

Brooms and mops can be stored on the floor in the corner of a cleaning equipment storage room.

Incorrect Brooms and mops will not dry if they are stored on the floor. Microbes can reproduce quickly in wet cleaning equipment.

Spices cannot cause food poisoning.

Incorrect In some cases spices, too, can cause a risk of food poisoning, and therefore they must be used and stored hygienically and with care just like other food products.

Freezing improves the lastingness of food products because microbes are destroyed in the cold.

Incorrect Cold does not destroy microbes. If a product being freezed is microbiologically bad quality, it will be even worse quality after defrosting. However, freezing a good quality product will make it last longer as long as the freezing temperature is cold enough (-18 degrees Celsius or lower) and defrosting happens sufficiently slowly in cold areas.

Disinfected work surfaces contain no microbes.

Incorrect Correctly done disinfection reduces the amount of microbes excellently on work surfaces and equipment. However, a disinfected work surface is not sterile.

It is not possible to get food poisoning from ice cubes.

Incorrect Deep freezing or freezing does not even nearly kill all harmful microbes in food or water even though some microbes may die. If there are harmful microbes in an ice machine or in water being used in ice cubes, they may also appear in the ice cubes and possibly cause food poisoning.

The primary purpose of disposable gloves is to protect the hands from becoming dirty.

Incorrect Disposable gloves are being used to protect unpackaged food against microbes possibly still present on the hands despite having been washed. By nature and from contamination there are abundant microbes on the skin and particularly on the hands. Microbes thrive particularly well in wounds and rashes. Besides carefully washing the hands, one must always also use protective gloves if the skin of the hands is wounded. If using gloves, these should be used hygienically and exchanged sufficiently often and at least always if they have come into contact with dirty surfaces, working tools, money or other possible sources of contamination. Thus one avoids cross-contamination to food via the gloves. Despite using gloves, one shall regularly wash ones hands, for example, because of it being often warm and moist within the gloves, which increases the reproduction of microbes on the hands.

If raw milk is stored at refrigerator temperature, it cannot contain pathogenic bacteria.

Incorrect During, for example, milking contamination may cause microbes to enter the milk and generate food poisoning in the milk, and the microbes are not killed or they even may reproduce during cold storing. You ensure the safety of milk through heating, for example, pasteurization or Ultra-pasteurization (UHT).

A health inspector carries out own-check activities in food industry companies.

Incorrect Food business operators shall execute and maintain own-check in their companies. The health inspectors monitor that the food business operators comply with legislation in their operations. Included in this, the health inspectors evaluate the sufficiency of own-check with respect to operations so that relevant and sufficient methods of controlling risks. The health inspectors neither prepare nor correct own-check and are not responsible for the safety of operations in food premises. The food business operator themselves are responsible for that the food they handle is safe for the consumers.

Food poisoning is always caused by bacteria that has been accidentally let into food.

Incorrect Food poisoning can often be caused by storing food for too long in hazardous temperatures, too slow cooling or ineffective heating. These are situations where bacteria have had time to reproduce and multiply.

Food products stored in protective gas do not have to be stored in the cold because the protective gas protects the products from perishing.

Incorrect Food products stored in packages with protective gas must always be stored in the cold according to the instructions on the packaging. Protective gas packages have normal air changed into air that contains little or no oxygen to prevent microbes that use oxygen from reproducing. Protective gas prevents e.g. the surface of meat from darkening and thus keeps the product sensually appealing.

A catering service may use perishable foodstuffs as an ingredient for evening meal, even though the foodstuffs were offered in a buffet during the day.

Incorrect Food such as unpackaged easily perishable food that once has been offered at a buffet may only once be offered for serving. The food starts to perish immediately after cooking. You may slow contamination by obeying regulated serving temperatures and serving times, using hygienic working methods, and using clean serving tools, lines and utensils. For microbe reproduction, the conditions while the food is being offered for serving often are more favourable than storing condition. The prerequisites for food contamination particularly are most favourable on a buffet visited by many persons. Then, the hygiene of food handling is more difficult to control.

The same knife can be used for cutting raw and cooked meat.

Incorrect Heated food must be protected from contamination after being heated. Ingredients and the equipment used to handle those ingredients must be kept separate from cooked products to prevent cross-contamination.

Frozen products can be thawed in room temperature to make the thawing fast enough.

Incorrect If food products are thawed in room temperature, the products' surfaces will melt quicker than the insides. The surfaces will start to spoil even though the insides can still be frozen.

The owner of a restaurant must notify the local food control authority about the opening of the restaurant after the restaurant has been opened to customers.

Incorrect If the matter concerns approved food premises, i.e., a plant (such as a plant manufacturing meat or fish products, a dairy processor), one must apply for a written approval by the supervisory food authority before starting operations. The operator of the food premises (for example, cafeteria, restaurant, food shop) to be registered shall notify the supervisory food authority about the operations at least 4 weeks before starting operations. The supervisory food authority supplies the operator with a certificate that the notification is being processed. Some low-risk operations actually not associated with business activities need not necessarily even be registered. Safest is to contact the supervisory food authority in one's own municipality. They provide advice and guidance on the prerequisites for operations.

In Finland the milk found in cartons in stores is rarely pasteurized.

Incorrect In Finland the milk found in cartons in stores is almost always pasteurized milk. Only raw milk that has been bought directly from a dairy farm is not usually pasteurized.

New products that are to be moved into cold storage are placed where there is enough room for them.

Incorrect In cold storage older products are placed in front and newer ones in the back. Older products are always to be used first. This is called the first in-first out principle.

A food industry operator does not have to do own-check, but it is recommended nevertheless.

Incorrect It is a statutory obligation of all approved and registered food premises to perform own-checking. Simplified, own-check refers to a system by which an operator identifies and manages operational hazards and their management, as well as corrective actions in case of a failure. The extent and accuracy of own-check depends on the nature and extent of the activity. The food business operator is not required by law to draw up a written own-check plan as a separate document. However, the food business operator must carry out own-check and record the results of own-checking. The food business operator must have a system to identify and manage the hazards associated with its activities and to ensure that the food and food business complies with the requirements set out in the food regulations.

When receiving frozen goods, their temperature does not need to be measured if the product feels cold.

Incorrect It is recommended that one occasionally measures the temperature of frozen deliveries, especially if there are any doubts about the accuracy of transportation temperature.

All microbes are harmful to humans.

Incorrect Many food products also have in them naturally beneficial microbes, and with many food manufacturing processes microbes have an essential role, like for example making beer and fermented vegetables.

From a hygiene perspective, it does not matter whether you close a water tap with your bare hand or a disposable hand towel after washing your hands.

Incorrect Microbes may be present on the surface of water taps as the taps are touched with dirty hands. Clean hands immediately turn dirty if they make contact with the water tap after washing. The tap should be closed with, for example, a paper towel, if not such automatic or similar taps are being used that need not be touched by hands.

Minced meat lasts as long as unprepared meat if it is packaged in a vacuum container or vacuum bag.

Incorrect Minced meat requires that it be stored in a maximum temperature of +4 degrees celsius, whereas whole meat can be stored in +6 degrees celsius.

The raw materials for the pizzas can be kept at room temperature as the pizza is baked in the hot oven.

Incorrect Most raw materials being used in pizzas are unpackaged easily perishable food. For example, chopped vegetables, slivered ham, shrimps, fried minced meat and tuna fish are pizza raw materials, which must be cold-stored. You may not use putrefied raw materials for preparing pizza. If the raw materials are stored at room temperature the microbes may reproduce or excrete toxins in the raw materials before the pizza is being baked. Not all microbes or possible toxins excreted by microbes are destroyed when the pizza is being baked.

Jam that is slightly mouldy on the surface can be eaten, if the mouldy surface layer is removed.

Incorrect Mould also grows well in sour food, for example, in fruit and berry juices as well as jams, because the most favourable pH value for the growth of mould is in the range from 3 to 5. Although visible mould is present only on the surface of jam, some of the mould flora, or mould poisons i.e., mould toxins, may have spread elsewhere in the jam, which necessarily cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Packages of easily perishable food products must have a label indicating their best-before date.

Incorrect Packages of easily perishable food products always require a label indicating the last day of use and storing instructions. The shown date is valid only for unopened products that have been stored in the right temperature.

UHT-treatment (Ultra-High Temperature) and pasteurization of milk are the same thing.

Incorrect Pasteurization implies heating the food during 15 seconds to +72 degrees centigrade internal temperature, and then immediately cooling the food. Most microbes are killed during pasteurization, but, for example, possible spores stay alive. UHT-treatment (Ultra-High Temperature) is stronger heat processing where food is heated to at least +135 degrees centigrade internal temperature during a few seconds. This treatment kills all microorganisms.

A preservative destroy all microbes in a foodstuff.

Incorrect Preservatives reduce the microbes' growth prospects but do not kill them. Preservatives are, for example, sodium nitrite and substances that lower the pH value, for example citric acid. For example, sugar and salt improve the shelf life and they also have an effect that prohibits microbe growth. Sugar and salt can affect the foods' water activity, i.e., the volume of free water available to microbes. Sugar and salt in the food binds water molecules. The microbes' growth prospects deteriorate when water activity decreases.

Salmonella can only get transmitted through feces.

Incorrect Salmonella can get transmitted through feces by way of poor hand hygiene but also via contaminated food products, such as raw meat and eggs.

Salt can not contain microbes.

Incorrect Salt is dry, so microbes do not grow in it. However, salt can contain spores of bacteria, molds or yeast.

Food poisoning always requires a large number of harmful bacteria.

Incorrect Some food poisonings can be caused by very tiny amounts of bacteria in the food.

Vegetables stored in a vinegared liquid can be kept in room temperature.

Incorrect Sterilized, can-packed and unopened vinegared products can be stored in room temperature. Vinegared products will last long due to the high acidity, but opened packages must be stored in cool temperatures.

Tapeworms are parasites found especially in shellfish.

Incorrect Tapeworms can be found in the roe (eggs) and muscles of lake fish, such as bass, pike, burbot and ruffe.

Temperature does not affect the reproduction of microbes.

Incorrect Temperature is one of the factors affecting the reproduction of microbes. The reproduction of microbes becomes more effective when the temperature is favourable for them.

When the best-before-date of a product has passed, the product usually spoils quickly.

Incorrect The best-before-date is found on products sold in room temperature (with the exception of milk products.) The products will not spoil too easily, so the products can be kept for sale and used after the best-before-date.

If a shipment contains dairy products, meat products or fish products, it can be safely stored for a few hours in room temperature before it is transferred to a cold storage.

Incorrect The cold chain for easily perishable food must not fail at any stage. The food must as soon as possible be transported to storing in temperatures as required by each food item. The safety and shelf life of food is secured at all stages by avoiding the temperature range +6 - +60 degrees centigrade of the danger zone. When the cold chain fails the product's shelf life deteriorates or at least significantly becomes shorter.

Dry flour contains no microbes.

Incorrect The microbes in dry products have not been destroyed. Dry products can contain spores of bacteria, moulds and yeast.

Hepatitis A is never spread in food products.

Incorrect The most important viruses that reproduce in the intestines of humans are the norovirus and hepatitis A. Both viruses last for a long time and are able to spread in the cold and even in frozen foods.

Trichinella spiralis is a parasite of salmon.

Incorrect Trichinella spiralis is found in the non-inspected meat of pigs, boar, horses and bears.

When food is heated in a microwave oven, all microbes in the food are destroyed.

Incorrect When heating food in a microwave oven the food is heated unevenly if it repeatedly is not stirred during heating. The microwaves only heat the food and besides heating have no other effect killing microbes. If you wish to kill microbes in food by using a microwave oven the food must throughout and sufficiently long be heated in the oven to a sufficiently hot temperature. If the temperature in some part of the food remains low and heating sufficiently is not prolonged harmful microbes in that part may remain alive.

Visual evaluation is enough to check the cleanliness of working areas and equipment.

Incorrect When working the results of cleaning can be evaluated visually, but it is good to occasionally do tests by taking bacteria samples from surfaces and equipment. The microbiological quality of food products that have been treated in some way is a good measure for the effectiveness of cleaning. It is a good idea to name a responsible person to monitor the results of cleaning regularly.

Wooden utensils are well suited for professional kitchens if they are washed in a washing machine on a sufficiently hot program.

Incorrect Wooden utensils should not be used in professional kitchens, as they do not withstand repeated washes in a washing machine. Materials must very durable in order to cope with repeated washes, like for example plastic and steel utensils that are meant for food product related use.

In vegetables, only perished areas that can be noticed visually are health hazards.

Incorrect Due to cultivation and treatments the surface of vegetables can have impurities which can not be seen with the bare eye. Harmful microbes can also be on areas that are not visually perished. Vegetables are a health risk when they are not washed properly before use.